Athletics (also known as Track and Field) embodies the Olympic motto, "Citius, Altius, Fortius," meaning faster, higher, stronger. Runners have competed in foot races since the original ancient Games at Olympia when athletics were part of a religious festival. Back then, boxing, wrestling, and equestrian were also track and field events along with three foot races and an ancient pentathlon. Some evidence suggests that athletics were the only sport in some of the first ancient festivals. As the popularity of athletics grew, so did the number of events - no Olympic sport has more events.

Athletics can be divided into four areas: track, field, road, and combined.

• Track: Men and women compete in sprints (100m, 200m, 400m), middle-distance running (800m, 1500m), long-distance running (5000m, 10,000m), hurdling (100m and 400m for women, 110m and 400m for men), relays (4 x 100m and 4 x 400m) and the 3000m steeplechase (a race with a variety of obstacles along the way).
• Field: Field events include the long jump, triple jump, high jump, pole vault, shot put, discus, javelin, and hammer throw. The women’s pole vault and hammer throw debuted at the Sydney 2000 Games.
• Road: This competition includes men’s and women’s marathons, the men’s 20km and 50km race-walks and the women’s 10km race-walk.
• Combined: Women compete in the heptathlon and men compete in the decathlon, a series of track and field events held over two days.

Chicago’s history is rich with track and field experiences, evident in the city’s strong running culture. The University of Chicago Track Club helped produce generations of track and field athletes during the 60s, 70s, and 80s. Mike Conley, the 1992 Olympic Gold Medalist in the triple jump, ran with the club and now serves on the board of Chicago 2016. Today, the facility offers instruction and competition opportunities to the city’s youth.

Seeing a need to further educate children in track and field, Friends of Track and Field, a Chicago group dedicated to the advancement of athletics, was formed. Building a new indoor track and field training center is just one of the group’s priorities. Also, local runners have formed the Chicago Area Runners Association (www.cararuns.org), whose motto is "further, faster, better for life".

To view more Athletics (Track and Field) photos, please visit our Flickr page.